IRAN NOT NEXT IN LINE AFTER THE FALL OF SADDAM HOSEYN
LONDON 2 Apr. (IPS) Britain would not join in any military action against Iran or Syria, and does not believe the United States has any intention to do so after the war in Iraq, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Wednesday.
In an interview with the BBC radio, Straw was asked whether he feared
that U.S. officials had created an impression that once Iraq had been tackled,
Syria and Iran might be next in line.
"It would worry me if it were true. It is not true, and we would have nothing whatever to do with an approach like that", Straw said.
On Friday, U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned Syria to stop sending military equipment including night-vision goggles to Iraqi forces and Tehran to stop letting Iraqi forces based in Iran to cross the border.
The warnings added to fears that the US was planning to extend its policy of using pre-emptive military action to rewrite the map of the Middle East to its own liking after carrying out 'regime change' in Baghdad.
There was no case whatsoever to attack Iran, Straw said. Britain would have "nothing whatever" to do with any military action against Syria or Iran, he said.
Nevertheless, Straw urged Syria not to help Iraqi fighters by allowing supplies to move through its territory.
"It is important that Syria ensures that its territory is not used as a conduit for military supplies to the government of Iraq and I hope they are not doing so," he said.
Both Iran and Syria denied the charges. Damascus said it was not helping equip the Iraqi regime and Iran insisted that it was neutral in the American-led attack on Iraq.
Straw said Iran was in a "completely different" situation from Iraq, adding that "Iran is an emerging democracy and there would be no case whatsoever for taking any kind of action."
Britain has been working to improve relations with Iran, and completed the normalisation of diplomatic relations in November when new ambassador Richard Dalton took up his post in Tehran.
The British Foreign Secretary said he had made extensive personal efforts to improve bilateral relations with Iran. He said he had extensive talks with his Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharrazi over the weekend and that Britain had "good cooperation from the Iranian government".
"The Iranians have more reason to know of the terror imposed by Saddam Hoseyn, not just on his own people but on other peoples in the region, than almost any other country including Kuwait", the British Foreign Secretary said.
The United States severed its diplomatic ties with Iran in 1981 and President George W. Bush has placed Iran in the basket of "evil states", along with Iraq and North Korea. ENDS UK ASSURES IRAN 2403